


Mind Rash

by Raynbowz



Series: An Interlude of Time [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Swearing (if you're British)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 15:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/651837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raynbowz/pseuds/Raynbowz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor just left Rose for the first time.  What will he do with himself?  Get into trouble, as usual!  First in a series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mind Rash

Mind Rash  
a Doctor Who Story

Outpost 17 was unremarkable in many ways. Ordinarily a bustling scientific research station far from Earth, it was currently standing down from regular activity; its skeleton crew of five had few real duties. Certainly the Mechanic/Engineer Pelsi had tasks to do, and Kemwa, the Astronomer/Alien Relations Specialist could make good use of his time, but the rest of the group fought boredom on a daily basis. Truth to be told, Kemwa and Pelsi had little to do either, so stepping on toes and grating on nerves were standard fare on the base these days.

Captain Drell sighed, swirled the Go Juice around in his mug a bit, then went back to musing over the bad luck that had forced him into this particular rotation. He really shouldn’t complain, Drell told himself. The station would practically run itself, apart from fiddly things that would be easily handled by those onboard, and his crew were smart, competent people. He just hated wasting his time in vacuum when he could be doing something important and exciting.

He thought again of his last rotation as the captain of Outpost 41, where First Contact with an alien intelligence was expected at any moment. Why hadn’t he stayed when he was asked, right in the thick of the action? Duty, he reminded himself ruefully; duty always came first. He knew the offer had been in name only; when it was time for a rotation change, a man who knew what was good for him and his career always moved on.

Drell half-heard Pelsi coming in with Communication Specialist/Security Officer Zaad, but decided after a moment that his blue funk was more interesting. Zaad was just a grumpy rules-lawyer, and the topic was harmless; Pelsi could hold her own. Though Pelsi could get lazy, she was a whiz when it came to thinking outside the box and making do with what she had. Besides, she never whined over emergencies or shirked real work; just the trivial, easy stuff a robot could probably do better. Drell and Pelsi were old chums, and he had great respect for his M/E. He had never been on rotation with Zaad before; rumor said he was a Lurker, but Drell had dismissed that notion quickly. No one who made such a show of following every rule to the letter and touting the old Party Line could possibly be a government spy--too obvious. Zaad was just too old and hardened to change his ways, clinging to the rules to find stability in a new, frightening world.

Zaad and Pelsi were deep in discussion over the problems back home regarding the people called “Telies”—humans with natural telepathic and empathic abilities. Some people praised them as the new ‘evolution of man’, while others suggested almost xenophobic measures to preserve ‘the privacy and purity of the human race’. Drell didn’t side with either the sycophants or the hate-mongers; he just wanted to be there when glory and honor came his way. Morosely he reminded himself the way things were going, he’d missed his only chance.

Drell took another swallow of Go Juice, winced, and wished he’d spent—no, invested—the extra 4000 credits it would have cost to bring some real coffee aboard this floating tin can. He didn’t bother looking up when his XO/Medic and A./A.R.S. came into the Mess Hall. It wasn’t Jothan’s presence Drell minded; his second was a hell of a medic, and could handle any command situation the stars could throw. Strangely, it was Kemwa that the captain despised.

Though the two had the most in common, their approaches toward life differed widely. Both men wished they could be in the eye of the storm at Outpost 41, and both were millions of miles from what they wanted. Where Drell silently brooded and manfully followed his career track, Kemwa spent his time fawning over his superiors and snubbing or antagonizing everyone else. Drell disapproved of both on principle; one never got ahead in this business by looking too eager to the bigwigs or insulting the 'help'. Kemwa’s supercilious attitude would only alienate him from the key players he would need to advance, Drell thought. It was probably a youth vs. experience thing; Kemwa hadn’t realized yet who held the real power. 

He knew by the ringing boot strides that it was going to be trouble; Drell sighed inwardly and waited. He wasn’t disappointed. Kemwa marched up to Zaad and said crisply, “I need the main telescope realigned toward Star 265/6-JP right away, and you’ll have to free up some Main Computer memory so I can get the resolution level and speed I want.”

Zaad, a short, squat man at least 15 Time-Circles Kemwa’s senior, scowled, just as Drell had known would happen. “No way,” Zaad retorted back. “The comm systems are uploading, and if I have to interrupt at this stage, we’ll be off schedule for the whole Time-Part. You should have asked earlier. Besides, regulations clearly state that interruptions of uploads should be avoided unless clearly warranted. This isn’t your private observatory, you may remember.”

Pelsi put in her two credits, in the tone she had that Drell loathed more each time he heard it. “I’m just about to start the grav-stabilizer burn," she explained, "And if I have to realign Black Eye at the same time, it’ll put the system 18% above redline, even if—”

“If we wait," Kemwa broke in impatiently, "I’ll lose optimum alignment with the star, and I’ll have to wait a whole Time-Part. Would it really be so hard to put off the upload? It’s not like we have anything to report.”

Zaad’s glare deepened. “I said no. Communications come first, and I outrank you. We’re going to try something different this time, called following the bloody protocol!”

Zaad had raised his voice, but Drell saw Jothan sliding in next to the heated man, so the captain stayed motionless.

Kemwa turned to address Drell in an oily tone. “You may outrank me, Zaad, but this is a vessel with a scientific mandate. Your orders, Captain?”

Drell lifted his head from his mug. He said mildly, “I have none. I’ve been dealing with you “rocket jockeys” for 14 Time-Parts straight, and it’s someone else’s turn. Make your pleas to the XO.” Drell noted Jothan’s quick grin, and gave his second a small nod. “Part of being a great and momentous leader is knowing when to delegate, and when to step in with superior wisdom and experience. In other words, my job is to pass the buck on anything I don’t want to deal with, and pull rank to hog all the recognition and acclaim whenever I can. Commander Jothan, since the Med Center is empty, I delegate this decision to you.” Drell finished his Go Juice in a gulp and left the room briskly, smirking as he heard the voices start up again. He wasn’t concerned; Jothan would be diplomatic, and far more patient with the crew’s demands than he would be, Drell reflected. Time to stop moping and move on.

********  
In a sense, the ship was quite close, and in a sense, it wasn’t. It was small, but at the same time, it was huge. In fact, it was bigger on the inside than the outside. But as this ship was a TARDIS, and its pilot a Time Lord called the Doctor, such anomalies were to be expected. The Doctor was carrying on a conversation with himself, which was nothing new. The fact that no one was there to listen but the TARDIS was new, or at least relatively new.

That plucky Rose Tyler girl, who had assisted the Doctor in defeating the Nestene Consciousness, had declined his invitation to travel with him. She was content to stay on Earth with her boyfriend . . . what was his name . . . Ricky? Yes, the Doctor decided, the boyfriend’s name had to be Ricky. “Funny how quickly a being acclimates to a new situation”, he said to the air.

The Doctor had traveled alone since the war, but how soon he had come to like Rose. “Still, one must always be ready to strike out alone. Besides, I only knew her for a few hours . . .”

An alarm sounded from the far side of the TARDIS control console. Quickly, the Doctor moved to the source. “A distress beacon, rather close. Unknown type. Well, no harm popping in for a look-see. Could be trouble.”

Pressing various buttons and levers, the Doctor prepared to move his craft back into normal space . . .

********  
The sensors and instruments onboard Outpost 17 were far too primitive to pick up the distress beacon. In fact, the station did not even register the presence of the object hurtling toward them, so the first indication of danger Captain Drell got was when the station shook, and alarms started sounding.

“Great Jupiter!” he said, then his command training took over, and he hit the “All Crew” button on his headset. “All hands to emergency stations. I repeat, all hands to emergency stations immediately. This is not a drill.”

Pelsi’s voice came over the headset, shouting, “Of course it’s not a bloody drill! Something just hit us, something quite large. Half the station’s off-line, and we’ve got atmo alarms sounding in Hydroponics. I’m in C-Comm, trying . . ." 

“Any damage to critical systems?" Drell cut her off. "Can you get a visual?” He was calm, but that was just shock. Until he was sure no one was hurt or dead, he had no time to panic.

“Working on it, Captain. Life-Support, Fire-Suppression, and Emergency Backup systems show green. We have atmo leaks in Hydroponics, and no systems on-line past there.”

Drell was glad to hear that Pelsi sounded calm, too. Where in Jupiter’s Red Spot were the rest of his crew, he wondered, then slammed that thought to the back of his mind. Worry about that once the station is secure, he told himself. Seal the atmo leaks, and then go from there.

Some of the alarms switched off, and another voice came over Drell’s headset. “Commander Jothan reporting in. Sorry Captain, I was in my quarters, and there are no comm systems operational until you get to the brig. Zaad’s alive, but hurt. I got the blast door down in front of Hydroponics so we’re all right on atmo for now.”

“How bad is Zaad, and any contact with Kemwa?” Drell heard crackling.

“I think Kemwa was heading for the Observatory when we were hit," his medic told him. "If he was there, he’s probably vacuum. Zaad has some internal injuries and concussion, but he’ll survive; I’m taking him to Med Center now.”

Drell was silent for a Time-Blip. “I’m in Engineering. Get Zaad taken care of, then meet me in C-Comm. Pelsi’s already there, trying to sort things out.”

Jothan replied, “Will do, Captain. If Zaad’s injuries are worse than they look it may take time, but I’ll stay in contact. Jothan out.”

Pelsi signaled Drell privately, and he hit another button on his headset. “Engineering and all nonessentials are off-line. What hit us, Pelsi?”

The M/E barely spoke over a whisper. “Drell, get up here to C-Comm, right now.”

Drell tried to sound comforting. “What is it, Pelsi? Did you get a—”

“Just get up here!” was all she told him.

Drell replied, “On my way,” and headed for Central Command. It must be bad, he told himself, deathly bad. Once he got there, he found Pelsi sitting at the main console, not moving. Drell strode forward, angry that Pelsi would choose to fall apart right when it mattered most.

“Engineer, report!" he barked. "Pull yourself together and give me some data here—what hit us, and what is our current status?”

Pelsi didn’t answer, but pointed to the main view screen. Drell looked, then involuntarily stepped back. On the screen, in the middle of what had been Hydroponics, was a burning alien spaceship.

********  
With a wheezing whine, the TARDIS materialized into normal space. The Doctor checked to see if the atmosphere outside his craft was safe, and stepped out into a storage area of some kind. He shook his head, wondering how he could travel the limits of space and time, but so often end up parking the TARDIS in a closet.

He locked the ship behind him, and took a moment to get his bearings. Quite a racket was going on, and he covered his ears quickly. He saw a door, and opened it, doing his best to block the clamor out of his head. He was in a passage of some kind. He heard a noise behind him and turned. A young fellow was coming toward him, half-dragging and half-carrying an older man. Both were wearing similar clothing. The Doctor could see the older man was not moving, and wasted no time in helping the younger one carry his fallen companion.

Neither said a word as they moved the unconscious chap down the hall, the Doctor carrying the legs of the injured fellow. When they reached a hatchway, it opened into a large room.

“Which way?” the Doctor asked, and the younger man motioned his head to the left. In no time, the hurt man had been placed on an exam table in what the Doctor could easily recognize as some sort of medical center. The young man seemed to know what he was doing and how to use the equipment, so the Doctor stayed out of the way, leaning against a counter.

The younger man had on a grey jumpsuit, with alternating green and red piping at various places around the arms and legs, and a red badge on the left breast pocket. The badge sported a small silver star. His eyes were clear green, and his black hair was short. He was clean-shaven and his skin was pale. His companion on the table had a darker complexion, short grey hair, and a goatee. The piping on his jumpsuit was alternating yellow and brown, and his left pocket had no badge or star. Both had communication headsets on.

The room itself was primitive compared to the Time Lord’s technology, but was adequate for human standards. The Doctor tried to judge where and when he was; if he was correct, humans had been in this part of space for less than half a century. He tried to remember the general history of that time and section of space, and so missed what the young man said when he spoke.

“Sorry, I wasn’t—” the Doctor began.

The fellow spoke again, not rudely, but clearly concerned and in a hurry. “The scanner, on the counter. I need it.”

The Doctor handed the item to the medic, and for an instant their fingers touched. When they made contact, he reeled back a step, rocking on his heels; the young man was too involved in his work to notice. He regained his equilibrium and stayed where he was, but now watched the medic intently. He had felt similar sensations before and wanted to be on his guard.

At last, the medic finished giving aid to his companion, and looked up at the Doctor. “The table can handle stasis and healing acceleration on its own; he’ll be fine in a few Time-Portions. Now who are you, and how did you get here?”

The Doctor gave the fellow a cheery grin. “I’m the Doctor. I just popped in for a quick look-see at what’s going on.”

The young man frowned at him, and moved around the exam table to step between the Doctor and the door. “If you’re a medic, you’re out of uniform, and we haven’t had any visitors in Time-Sections. You’re not a stowaway, are you? If so, you’ve picked a Jupiter of a time to show up—the station was just hit by something. Or is that why you’re here? Did you have something to do with it?”

He moved toward the Doctor, but the Time Lord slid to the side, out of the medic’s reach. He thought of his psychic paper, and then remembered it would not affect a telepath/empath like this chap. He decided to try honesty. He said, “I am a doctor, just not the same as you. I didn’t cause whatever happened, but I am here to help. What’s your name?”

The young man was silent, then answered, “I’m Commander Jothan, the medic and second-in-command on this outpost. I’m not sure if I believe all you say, but I know you aren’t here to harm anyone.” He touched a button on his headset, and spoke. “Captain, this is Jothan. I need you here in Med Center; I just found a stranger onboard. He’s harmless, but I—” Jothan cocked his head, then said, “Yes sir, understood. Jothan out.” He turned to the Doctor and said, “The captain is on his way down. I suggest you have some sort of explanation when he gets here.”

********  
Drell hit his headset button and leaned against the main console for a Time-blip, pushing a button to turn off the view screen. He tried to collect himself; so many thoughts whirled through his head it was difficult to see what was in front of him. Then he bit his tongue hard, and everything snapped back into place. He straightened up and looked at Pelsi.

“How many systems can you put on automatic?”

Pelsi pressed a few buttons on the control panel. “From here, nothing that you haven’t done already. From Engineering, I can probably set up something for the rest of our systems. Near as I can tell, the station’s vacuum beyond Hydroponics, and comm systems are down between there and the Main Corridor. Still, there’s no huge hurry—the fire seems to be out, we have plenty of atmo left, and everything else can wait at least a Time-Part. Why do you ask?"

Drell took a deep breath. “There’s an alien in the Med Center with Jothan and Zaad, and I think it’s better if we’re both down there.”

Pelsi turned. “Are you serious? A bloody alien, onboard the outpost?”

“Well,” said Drell dryly, “an alien ship just crashed into us, and all of a sudden some stranger appears out of nowhere. You do the logic.”

Pelsi stuttered, “It can’t be, there’s no way—”

“When we get there," Drell said, cutting her off, "Jothan can scan it and we’ll know for sure. Until then, I’m not leaving him and Zaad all alone with it, so move your boots. Now!”

Drell’s brain was flying at light-speed, impatient with himself. He had been waiting all his career for an opportunity like this! He’d trained and sweated, worked and dreamed, never sure he’d ever get his dream realized. Now, his heart’s desire was on the doorstep—so how could he be so afraid? He glanced back to see Pelsi following behind him looking like a scared cadet; no worse, a scared little girl. He stopped for a moment, more to set his own fears aside than to assuage hers.

“Stay behind me. Follow procedure, to the letter. If anything goes wrong and you’re all alone, seal off everything between here and C-Comm, and ditch. That’s an order, Engineer.” He saw Pelsi nod, then continued down the corridor toward his destiny.

********  
The Doctor waited, watching Jothan as the medic watched him. The Time Lord wanted to be as non-threatening as possible; some telepath/empaths had mind energy enough to kill another being. He doubted Jothan would even try, but he wanted to keep things calm and friendly. He also didn’t want Jothan to scan his thoughts, and the less he seemed to be a threat, the less likely that would happen. The Doctor preferred to keep his mind to himself, and he didn’t want to confuse whatever situation he had walked into. Jothan had said something about an object hitting their current location, which might explain the distress beacon. The beacon certainly wasn’t being broadcast from the place itself; it was far too complex a signal for that.

A door opened, and two people entered the room. One was a girl with hazel eyes, red curls, and freckles. She was wearing the same grey jumpsuit as the others, but her piping was blue and orange, and she wore a black tool belt studded with various implements. She seemed scared, but curious. The other person was an older man with brown hair and eyes, and an air of authority. His jumpsuit had red piping and he did not look like he had any curiosity whatsoever, which meant he was likely in charge.

The new man wasted no time. “Did you crash your spaceship into this base on purpose?” he asked sternly.

The Doctor put on his grin again. “Hello, I’m the Doctor. And you are?”

The man said louder, “I asked a question. Did you deliberately smash your spaceship into my station?”

The Doctor kept smiling, but inside he was feeling something completely different. He hated it when people tried to cover up their fear with anger, and he knew from experience that afraid, angry humans could be quite dangerous. He would have to be cautious. “Actually, that’s not my ship. It’s just a coincidence that I’m here.”

“Funny coincidence," the man noted humorlessly. "If that’s not your spaceship, then how did you get here?”

Jothan spoke. “He might be a stowaway, or maybe a Lurker. I saw him come out of Storage as I was bringing Zaad here.”

The brown-haired man turned to Jothan and snapped, “Stowaway, you think? If he’s a stowaway, I’m a six-star general, and pregnant to boot. Have you even bothered to scan him?”

Jothan replied calmly, “I can’t at the moment. Zaad’s injuries required healing acceleration, so I put him in stasis. He won’t be conscious for several Time-Portions, so a full scan will have to wait.”

The Doctor tried again. “I’m the Doctor, and I tell you none of this has anything to do with me. Now will you tell me who you are?”

The girl spoke up for the first time. “I’m Mechanic/Engineer Pelsi, and this is Captain Drell. The man on the table is Communication Specialist and Security Officer Zaad.” The brown-haired man spun around to face her, and she said timidly, “Even if he is an alien, manners can’t hurt . . . can they?”

The Doctor remarked, “No, they can’t. Now, you were saying something about a crashed spaceship?”

Jothan broke in. “A spaceship hit us? Are there survivors? If someone—or something—needs help . . .”

“We have enough to worry about with ourselves, let alone possible hurt alien beings!" Drell said sharply. "For all we know, this is the pilot of the alien vessel, and it has hostile intentions. Until this . . . thing is scanned, I am assuming it is hostile, and it will be treated as such! Pelsi, you and I are going to escort this . . . Doctor to the brig. Jothan, stay here with Zaad. If we don’t communicate with you in 15 Time-Bits, consider us killed, and follow procedure.” Jothan was about to speak, but the captain cut him off. “That’s an order, Commander! Until I know what in Jupiter is going on, and what happened to Kemwa, we’re going by the book. Pelsi, lead the way, I’ll follow.”

The Doctor didn’t argue; anything he might say or do would be a waste. At this stage, cooperation was best. He followed Pelsi into the Mess Hall and down the corridor he had traveled with Jothan minutes earlier, then went past the room the TARDIS was in. The three entered a room adjacent to the TARDIS’ hiding place. This room had a desk, a chair, and a small cell.

Drell took guard while Pelsi led the Doctor to the table.

“Empty your pockets, please,” she asked. The Doctor complied, though it took a little time. He saw Pelsi’s eyes light up when he took out his sonic screwdriver, while the captain’s eyes narrowed. “Take that down to Engineering, Pelsi, and see what it does," Drell said quickly. "I’ll handle things here.”

The Doctor looked into the cell and saw it was typical—a cot, sink, and a toilet, nothing more. Not wishing to antagonize his captor nor lose his temper over this foolishness, the Doctor decided to do the one thing that might prove his sincerity. He stepped in, but before Drell had closed the door, they both heard a banging from somewhere nearby. He saw Drell go out into the passage and look, and then saw the color drain from the captain’s face. He heard Drell speaking into his headset “Jothan, Pelsi, get to the blast door outside the brig. Kemwa’s out there!”

********  
Drell was still staring at the window of the blast door, watching his Astronomer/Alien Relations Specialist banging on the hatch window with gloved hands. Kemwa seemed to have lost his headset, but was obviously alive and well enough to be trying to get in. Pelsi was there a moment later, and Jothan a step behind.

The medic had a laptop he always used in the Med Center; it linked directly into the C-Comm computer. He shoved it at Pelsi saying, “Get the door open, fast!”

Drell stepped back, allowing Pelsi full access to the hatch controls. It seemed to take longer than it did, but Pelsi connected cables and worked her magic. As the blast door opened, the screech of escaping air and alarms sounding filled the corridor, but they were able to get Kemwa inside and shut the bulkhead again relatively quickly.

Jothan immediately took charge. “Kemwa, are you all right?” When he got no response, the medic shook the other man by the shoulder and spoke louder, but Kemwa just stood there, a blank expression on his face. When Jothan took him by the arm and led him, Kemwa followed, but still would not speak. Jothan said over his shoulder, “He doesn’t appear to have any injuries. I’ll take him to Med Center and see what I can do for him. It may not be be much, but . . .”

Jothan led Kemwa away, still trying to get the scientist to respond.

“Can I help?” the Doctor asked.

Drell had forgotten about his prisoner in the excitement, and jumped. Pelsi said quickly, “Captain, if he’s just a stowaway, now’s a good time to make him earn his trip, and if he’s an alien, he might be able to help us.”

Drell scrutinized his M/E’s face for at least a Time-Bit, then turned and headed for C-Comm. Pelsi was right; they may as well use whatever they had at their disposal. "Fine," he grunted. "It's not like he can go anywhere with his ship on fire." Pelsi, you head to Engineering and jury-rig some sort of automation system until we can start repairs. Doctor, you're with me.”

********  
Jothan led his colleague into the Med Center. He looked around for a place to put Kemwa for now, wishing the room was equipped to handle more patients at a time. As it was, Zaad was on the only exam table. He was planning to sit at the desk, which meant using that chair, and the only other bed was in the Iso-Lab. The Iso-Lab was a separate, secure little cubicle where a sick person could be quarantined in an emergency.

Jothan looked around again, sighed, then hastily left the room to grab a seat so Kemwa could at least sit down. The medic didn’t want his friend to feel shut up in the Iso-Lab. As he came back he heard a hoarse cry. He ran in and saw Kemwa leaning over the exam table, both hands on Zaad’s head. Zaad was sitting up screaming, his face awash in pure horror.

Jothan rushed forward, forgetting the chair in his hands. Kemwa was fast; he caught hold of the chair and yanked. Jothan went sprawling; Zaad continued to scream. As Jothan got to his feet, Kemwa thrust his hands back into the space suit gloves he had laid on the exam table, and stalked down the hall. Jothan tried to get in front of the astronomer, but was sent sprawling again, with a hard shove. He knew he couldn’t stop the man alone. Quickly he pressed the Medical Emergency alarm on his headset, and once more tried to distract Kemwa from his mission, whatever it might be.

********  
The Doctor had just followed Captain Drell into the command center of the ship, when he heard a new alarm sound.

Drell hit a button on his headset. “What’s happened, Jothan?” he snapped.

The Doctor could not hear the medic’s reply, but whatever it was seemed serious. The captain pushed him out of the way and ran back down the corridor. He was close on his heels. When they got there, the man he presumed was Kemwa was standing by the blast door leading to the damaged area of the station. Jothan seemed to be trying to stop him from getting to the laptop that would trigger the door. Drell tried to help the commander physically keep Kemwa from the controls, but the two had no success. The Doctor jumped for the cable that connected the laptop to the door, but was a fraction too late; the hatch slid back, and more alarms started sounding. Kemwa stepped through the opening, and was sucked away from them in an instant.

“Seal the door!” Captain Drell cried.

The Time Lord saw that both Jothan and the captain were fighting the strong rush of air. The Doctor used the controls to seal the hatch again, and the station was quiet once more. All three men got to their feet.

“I tried, Captain, I did," Jothan said shakily. "I’m not even sure what—”

The captain shook his head, then spoke gruffly. “There’s nothing you could have done, Commander. For whatever reason, Kemwa was determined to leave, and did. Let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Coming, Doctor?”

“In half a moment,” the Doctor said. The captain looked puzzled, then shrugged and moved on. The Time Lord waited until Drell was out of earshot, then turned to Jothan, who was leaning against the blast door, exhausted. “He’s right, you know. It wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I tried,” Jothan moaned. “I tried, but I need skin-to-skin contact in order to . . .”

“It wasn’t your fault,” the Doctor repeated, with more force this time.

“How can you know? You didn’t just kill a friend.”

“I do know,” the Doctor replied. He looked straight into Jothan’s eyes, then deliberately took the medic’s hand, and opened his mind to him. This time, it was Jothan who staggered backward. The Doctor counted slowly to three, then let go of Jothan. “That’s how I know.” Without another word, the Doctor headed toward C-Comm, not looking back.

********  
As the Doctor continued down the corridor, he met up with Drell and the girl. The older man from the medical center was with them, muttering. He listened closely; the older man kept repeating, “It was in my head. Something tried to climb in my head. It was—”

Suddenly he remembered where he was in space and something clicked. He turned to Drell urgently. “The spaceship that crashed into you—what does it look like? I need to see it, now!”

Drell turned again toward C-Comm, telling Pelsi, “Keep Zaad with you, and seal off Engineering. I don’t want him trying to copy Kemwa.”

“If I’m right,” the Doctor said grimly, “the alien from that crash didn’t want Zaad, or your astronomer. In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s only one being on this station it can even talk to. Come on!”

********  
Pelsi led Zaad to Engineering and sealed it off, as the captain had ordered. Zaad sat down in a corner rocking to and fro; he could be no help to her, so she was basically on her own. She had already set the outpost systems on automatic, so there was little else to do but wait. Then she remembered something, and slipped from her tool belt the small device the Doctor had been carrying. She tried pointing it at the table; it made noise, but nothing else happened. She took a breath, and pushed the button, placing her fingers under the blue beam. There was the same noise and her fingers tingled a bit, but no other reaction. Whatever it was, it seemed a pretty useless weapon.

Pelsi decided to do a few more experiments on the device. If nothing else, she was pretty sure she could at least increase its strength . . .

********  
On reaching C-Comm, the Doctor went straight to the view screen, while Drell went to the controls and worked to re-establish visual contact with Hydroponics. “Great Jupiter, nothing’s responding! I can’t get a link now; the fire must have damaged some relays.”

The Doctor was pacing back and forth, trying to hide his impatience and hoping he was wrong about his theory. “What about the images you first got? Would they still be in the computer memory?”

The Captain worked at the computer console. “All sensor information is downloaded to Earth and erased, so we don’t waste memory. Still, we only download once a Time-Part, so there’s a good chance . . .” Drell punched a series of keys, and the original image of the alien ship appeared on the screen. The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. “I was right, unfortunately. It’s a Bryylen ship.”

“Are these . . . Bryylen . . . hostile? Or dangerous?” Drell asked.

The Doctor kept his focus on the screen as he spoke. “Dangerous, yes. Hostile, not really. They’re a solely telepathic race, with no writing, no spoken language, just pure thought. They travel in hives of three members each. But that’s not a ship big enough for three. That means there is one, or two of them quite close, and most likely on the way.”

“Why did this Bryylen kill Kemwa, if they’re not hostile? And how do you know there’s only one?”

The Doctor looked at the captain. “I just told you, that ship holds only one or two. Also, if there were more than one Bryylen mucking about, I wouldn’t be talking to you. One of them would have certainly tried to borrow me. As for killing, your astronomer Kemwa was already dead. The Bryylen only borrowed his corpse to get around in. It’s probably trying to get to a life-support pod on its ship and wait for rescue. Failing that, it will come back on the station.”

“What for?” Drell stammered.

The Doctor looked more serious than he had before, if it were possible. “Bryylen have host bodies, with their consciousness inside, and telepath minds are wired completely different from ordinary ones. This Bryylen’s host body must have died in the crash; that’s why it used Kemwa’s. And that explains what happened to Zaad as well. If the Bryylen had actually entered Zaad’s body, they both would have died. So if the Bryylen can’t get to its pod, and can’t go back to its host, there are only two minds here that can support it long enough for it to be rescued. One of them is mine. The other belongs to your medic.”

“My medic? Are you telling me Jothan’s a Telie?”

“If that’s your word for a telepath or empath, then yes. We’ll have to find a way to get out to the ship and help that Bryylen find its survival pod. I hope the pod’s intact; the other alternatives are quite unpleasant.”

“Just so I know, what are the other alternatives?”

“I could let the Bryylen borrow my mind for a while. It would only be a temporary fix, and I would almost certainly go mad, but it might work. The Bryylen might also try to share Jothan’s mind, and that would end up getting us all killed.”

“Why’s that?”

Before the Doctor could answer, an alarm started ringing again, and there was a faint whistling sound. “That one sounds familiar,” the Doctor shouted over the din. “What is it for, again?”

Drell was running toward the corridor that led to the blast door. “Looks like our alien’s trying to get back in!” he yelled. The Doctor stood frozen an instant, then ran after the captain.

********  
After the Doctor had left, Jothan sat down with his back against the blast door, shaking. He had never felt a mind like that before, not ever. There was so much in it; so much power and weakness, experience and innocence. The Doctor seemed to be a walking contradiction, and he had only shared three Time-Blips.

Jothan kept coming back to that; they had only been linked for three blips, and yet . . .

As the medic stood and turned to go, something caught his eye. Jothan stopped and turned back to the door. Standing in the window was Kemwa, somehow still alive. Jothan grabbed up the laptop, pressing keys frantically. The medic didn’t have Pelsi’s computer skill, but did have something just as useful—command codes. He searched his mind, looking for the override sequence that had been subliminally planted there. Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to consciously access the data, but Jothan was a telepath; if he could unlock the secrets of other minds, it would be child’s play to get inside his own.

Jothan concentrated, punched in a special sequence, and the door slid open. Kemwa stepped through the blast door and stood, still and expressionless. He closed the hatch, then reached out, removing Kemwa’s right glove. He felt for a pulse . . .

********  
They were too late; the Doctor could see that clearly.

Jothan’s eyes were no longer green; they were a rainbow of shifting colors and his face was a blank mask. The medic took a swift step forward, then a new hatch slammed down, closing off the corridor that Drell and the Doctor were in.

“I need to talk to him,” the Doctor panted. “Can you open this?”

Drell gasped, “It’ll take time, but yes.” He handed the Doctor his headset, then turned to the hatch controls, pulling a small disc out of his breast pocket.

“Good man.” The Doctor put the headset on, then pressed one of the buttons. “Jothan, can you hear me?” Through the window in the hatch, the Doctor could see Jothan standing there, Kemwa’s body at his feet. Jothan didn’t respond at first, but after a long pause, he answered.

“Yes, Doctor, I hear you.” The voice had a flat, distant quality.

“Jothan, I know you’re scared—”

“There is an alien in my mind, trying to control me, use me for its own ends. Scared is not the word, Doctor. Not at all.”

The Doctor tried another tack. “If you open the door, Jothan, we can help you. I can help you. You’ve been inside my head, and you know I can.”

“If I do open it, what’s to stop this thing from killing me, or anyone else?”

The Doctor said, “The alien inside you is a Bryylen. It doesn’t want to hurt or kill anyone or anything. It’s just trying to survive, trying to get help. To do that, it wants to borrow your brain and telepathic ability.”

“And that I refuse to allow.” The Doctor saw an expression break through on Jothan’s face, one of pain. 

“Jothan, listen to me. If it stays in you, and you fight it, you’ll both die, and I mean horribly. Open the door, and let it borrow me until it gets rescued. The Bryylen can use the TARDIS to contact its hive-mates, and—”

“And drive you mad in the process—you’re no telepath. I won’t let this alien destroy the last Time Lord in existence . . . and I won’t let myself let it happen.”

“At least let me speak to it!” the Doctor pleaded. “I can try to work out—”

“It’s too late, Doctor," Jothan cut in as he turned away. "If it gains enough control to use my voice, I won’t be able to hold it in check. I already know what must be done. Jothan out.”

Slowly and jerkily, Jothan removed his headset, and crushed it under his heel. The medic disconnected the laptop from the Hydroponics blast door, and stumbled toward the Med Center.

********  
Sealed off in the Engineering section, Pelsi had heard the whole conversation, and now sat, trembling. She wasn’t sure what a Bry-whatever was--or what a Time Lord was, and she had no idea what a TARDIS was or what it could do. Also, she had no way of knowing what had happened to Drell; she assumed that since the Doctor had spoken over the Command headset, her captain must be dead. She only knew three things for certain: The Doctor was an alien; he was willing to negotiate with whatever was inside Jothan; and Jothan, her superior officer and friend, was in danger.

She decided to give him some back-up. Pelsi lifted the device she had rigged together from the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver and parts she had in her workshop. The Doctor’s tool was now attached by a cable to a small backpack. Putting on the backpack, she took the augmented device in her hand and cautiously made her way to the Med Center.

********  
As Jothan made his way down the corridor, he heard a loud alarm start to sound. He glanced sharply at the laptop he carried, then moved as fast as he could to the empty Med Center. He looked around to make sure he was alone, and went into the Iso-Lab, sealing the door behind him.

Once inside, he attached the laptop and cables he was carrying to the door control of the Iso-Lab. He pressed buttons at a furious rate, his eyes half-closed. When he was satisfied his work could not be undone, he dropped to his knees in the small cubicle.

Blotting out the world around him, he began attacking his mind’s alien intruder in earnest.

********  
Just before Captain Drell opened the hatch that stood between them and the Mess Hall, a new alarm began to sound. The Doctor turned to him. “You lot do have your bells and whistles," he shouted above the din. "What is this one for?”

Drell told him, “That’s the main Docking Bay doors opening. Someone’s here.”

Then he had the door open, and they bolted down the corridor toward the Mess Hall. As they entered, Drell saw something move, and skidded to a stop. Two large, spindly creatures were entering through the hatch in the far side of the Mess Hall. They were in tan, billowy robes, and were like nothing Drell had ever seen, or ever wanted to see. They were humanoid in shape, and had long, tapered limbs, but they seemed to have no ears, and more importantly, no faces. Eyes, nose, and mouth were replaced with smooth skin.

The Doctor caught his arm and pulled. “No time for that now; we’ve got to save Jothan while there’s still a chance!”

Drell felt the Doctor pulling him along and made his feet move, but he could not tear his eyes from what was following him into the Med Center. He entered the room and saw Jothan in the Iso-Lab, on his knees. Though the chamber was completely soundproof, he thought he could hear the medic screaming wildly. He could see that his second-in-command was in agony.

He moved to the door, but stopped dead in his tracks, partially because a Bryylen was in his way, and partially because of something else. “There’s nothing we can do, Doctor. Jothan’s wired the door of the Iso-Lab to the laptop console. There’s no way we’ll ever get that door open, and there’s no way ‘round.”

The Doctor grabbed the captain by the arm, shaking him roughly. “There has to be an override. Find it and switch it off!”

Drell grabbed the Doctor’s arm that held him. “You don’t understand, Doctor! Right now, the only access to the door is in that room, which is made of a composite substance that won’t break, bend, or crack. And we’re not talking about some static code to open the door; the computer itself will be rewriting the encryption as I solve it—it would take whole Time-Segments! I’m sorry, but I can’t open the door, and I can’t get in that Iso-Lab without blowing up the entire ship!”

The Doctor slammed his fists against the wall of the Iso-Lab in impotent fury. Now the situation was desperate, and the end inevitable. Jothan would experience an agonizing death right in front of them, and the alien trapped in Jothan’s mind would perish as well. Without a telepath to explain to the other Bryylen what had happened to their hive-mate, they would incorrectly assume that the humans had tortured and murdered their companion. As revenge, the Bryylen would destroy all life-forms on the station, and the Doctor was powerless to stop any of it.

Before the Time Lord could turn from the ghastly scene, he heard a female voice say, “No one move. Put your hands where I can see them.” Startled, the Doctor turned and saw Pelsi threatening them all with his sonic screwdriver. Something had been done to his beloved device, he noticed. Instead of the normal blue glow, it was emitting silvery sparks, and had a faint, high-pitched whine. It also had a cord running out the back, which meant it was hooked up to who knew what.

The Doctor stepped toward her, rather annoyed. “What have you done to my screwdriver?” he cried out.

Pelsi turned scarlet. “Is that what it is? I just . . . cranked it up a bit. Or maybe a lot; it seemed pretty weak to start with.”

A sudden, last-minute possibility came to his mind. The Doctor grabbed the instrument out of her hand. “Cover your ears,” he yelled to the humans. He then shouted a warning to the Bryylen, forgetting they had no way to understand him. He pointed his improved sonic screwdriver at the nearest wall of the Iso-Lab, and pressed the button. A loud, high-pitched hum began, growing louder every instant. Everyone who could clapped hands over their ears. The walls of the Iso-Lab trembled, vibrated strongly, and then, without warning, they burst into fragments.

As the walls of the Iso-Lab shattered, the Doctor and one of the Bryylen hurried forward, the alien holding out a small opalescent sphere. The Doctor grabbed Jothan by the back of the neck with one hand, and took the orb with the other. Carefully, the Doctor guided the alien energy pattern inside the sphere. He then handed the orb to the waiting Bryylen, and carried Jothan’s limp body to the cot nearby.

As the alien held and stroked the orb, its glow increased, changing from a stream of rainbow color to a soft lavender. A musical voice began to speak from the globe, saying, “Copious are apologies to Time Lord. No harm was intended to any. The Dirtling will recover?”

“Dirtling?” Drell blurted out, insulted.

The Doctor did not look up. “You’re an Earthling. Earth equals dirt, hence Dirtling. Now shut it!” The Time Lord held Jothan gently, concentrating until the medic jerked awake. Tortured, panicked green eyes met firm, keen blue ones, and the Doctor spoke soothingly. “Relax, Jothan. You’re all right now; it’s over. Just relax.” The Time Lord waited, focusing his energy, until the pain and terror left Jothan’s face. “Be still now and sleep. It’s time to sleep”. Slowly he watched as Jothan’s eyelids first blinked, then fluttered, and finally closed.

The Doctor sighed with relief, and carefully laid Jothan down, covering him with a blanket. He addressed the globe, stating, “Yes, he will recover. And I’ve told you lot before. If your race plans on spending much time in this area of space, you had better come up with a more universal mode of contact. You may think telepathy to be a more ‘enlightened’ way to communicate, but I call it ‘stuck-up’. And frankly, it’s dangerous for everyone.”

The sphere glowed in bright purple bursts, then spoke. “Copious again are apologies. Corrections will be implemented, in brief fashion. We can make reparations to the Dirtlings?”

“You can help the humans repair their station. You can also set about establishing some sort of dialogue with them in a way all of you can understand. Oh, and one other thing—you can leave me out of it. Not one mention of my name, or else!”

“Comprehension and compliance will be,” the orb responded.

********  
Within a few hours repairs were underway, and it seemed like everything was going to be fine. The sphere and Drell were already discussing the possibility of sign language between the two species; Zaad was back to normal, and the Bryylen were almost done repairing their ship enough to go back to their home planet.

Jothan had been asleep on the Iso-Lab cot when he felt a presence in the doorway of the Med Center. He opened his eyes, and was not surprised to see the Doctor leaning there, with a faint smile on his face. “On your way?” the medic asked.

“In a bit. Want to make sure you lot are all set first.” The Doctor looked a bit uncomfortable, then said quickly, “I just came up to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Jothan sat up a bit. “What did I do worth thanks?”

The Doctor came into the room slowly as he spoke. “You were willing to die, rather than let me take my chances with the Bryylen. I’m quite used to coming in and saving the day for others, but it’s not often someone offers to do it for me.”

“So you’re thanking me for placing all our lives in danger and not listening to reason? Sounds like an odd sort of thank you, if you ask me.”

“Your method may not have been sound, but the thought behind it was, hence the thanks.”

By now, the Doctor was sitting on the edge of the bed. He felt suddenly shy and awkward, but before he could spring away and leave, Jothan spoke. “I have a thank you as well, Doctor. Though I owe you my life, I’m sure that’s nothing new to you. But what you shared with me, those three little Time-Blips—”

The Doctor said hastily, “I call them seconds, actually . . .”

Jothan ignored the interruption and went on. “You may hurtle through the whole of Time and Space, saving the life of each and every being you encounter. Maybe that’s how you go about things in your world. But you can’t tell me for a micro-blip that you open up your soul to just anyone. And it’s for those three Time-Blips you shared . . . for those, I thank you.”

The Doctor jumped up quickly, saying, “Well, best to not linger, hate long goodbyes, and all that.” He marched himself to the door, but stopped on the threshold, and without turning said, “You could come with me for a trip, you know. Just a short hop, you’d be back in a few minutes . . .”

Jothan laughed. “How long is a minute?”

The Doctor turned to face Jothan, and held out his hand. “Come and find out.”

******** Sequel To follow: Chasing Shadows ********


End file.
